The purpose of the Peace Corps screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for the Peace Corps applicant, to generate understanding about the screening and medical clearance process, to minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers, and to allow completion of service without compromising the volunteers' entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in PDF format in the "Peace Corps Library."

Applicants are urged to click the link below to read the guidelines as they apply to medical conditions at the top of this page. Our goal is that this information will help applicants and their physicians understand the screening process and the restriction criteria that protect the health of prospective Peace Corps Volunteers. Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to leave their comments on the guidelines and restrictions with any suggestions for changes so that they can be incorporated into future guidelines.

If you have comments on the Medical Guidelines go to the top of this page and click on the "Create New Conversation" button to leave a message.

The purpose of the Peace Corps screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for the Peace Corps applicant, to generate understanding about the screening and medical clearance process, to minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers, and to allow completion of service without compromising the volunteers' entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in PDF format in the "Peace Corps Library."

Applicants are urged to click the link above to read the guidelines as they apply to medical conditions at the top of this page. Our goal is that this information will help applicants and their physicians understand the screening process and the restriction criteria that protect the health of prospective Peace Corps Volunteers. Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to leave their comments on the guidelines and restrictions with any suggestions for changes so that they can be incorporated into future guidelines.

If you have comments on the Medical Guidelines go to the top of this page and click on the "Create New Conversation" button to leave a message.

An RPCV looks at the Peace Corps Screening and Medical Clearance Process

"As an older – 60 years old – applicant for the Peace Corps in 2005, I found that the medical selection process for the Peace Corps can be maddening. This was the case even though I was applying to serve again, after a 37 year gap (Nepal, 68-70). I found that the Peace Corps provides a minimum of useful information about the possible twists and turns that can occur and what alternatives the applicant can pursue at each point in the process. My impression is that the paramount value for the Peace Corps seems to be secrecy, to reduce the power of the applicant and maximize the power of the Peace Corps selection personnel."

"As a result of our experiences with this process, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request and obtained a copy of the medical selection/screening guidelines the Peace Corps uses in evaluating the medical qualifications of applicants. I learned of the existence of the guidelines by accident during as my application was being reviewed and immediately asked to see them. After a month of evasion, I secured a copy of the guidelines relevant to my own medical issues (cardiology). I was shocked to find the guidelines to be woefully out of date, embarrassingly out of date, and I then feared that they would prejudice my application. I forcefully argued that the guidelines were out of date, and supplied extensive clinical trail and other documentation to prove that point. The Peace Corps refused to reconsider the guidelines and would not permit me to base an appeal on the obsolescence of the guidelines. In the end, I was accepted to serve again in the Peace Corps and am now serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, together with my wife, who is also a 60s RPCV. But I found the medical screening process to be a bitter experience."

Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to leave their comments on the following guidelines and restrictions with any suggestions for changes so that they can be incorporated into future guidelines.

Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Peace Corps Library

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Application Process; Screening; Medicine; Medical Restrictions; Medical Guidelines

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